Woven Together As Male

“Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong. Do everything in love.” -1 Corinthians 16:13 The Four Chaplains documentary tells the story of four WWII chaplains (one of whom was a pastor in my former denomination, the RCA) who were aboard the transport ship, the SS Dorchester, when it was torpedoed off the coast of Greenland in February of 1943. With the ship sinking and injured men jumping for overcrowded lifeboats, the four chaplains calmed the pandemonium by “preaching courage”, according to one survivor. When life jackets ran out, each took his off, giving it to a frightened young man. They had determined to go down with the ship so that others might live. Another survivor said, “It was the finest thing I have seen or hope to see this side of heaven.” As the ship began to sink, the chaplains linked arms and prayed aloud together, offering encouragement to those perishing with them. Their lives give testimony to the passage that we will be studying together this week. They showed courage by standing firm in their faith, by being strong, and by doing everything in love. In laying down their lives so that others could live, they followed the example of Jesus Christ. As we continue in our sermon series, Interwoven, we’ll be talking about what it means to be created as male and to live into 1 Corinthians 16:13-14. In a world that lifts up the “machismo,” “gird up your loins,” and the “Braveheart/Gladiator” narrative, what we find is that Scripture gives us a broader view. And lest we think this doesn’t also apply to women, we would be woefully mistaken, as these verses have something to say to us all.